by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Top hat and all this Basset is ready to Pawty! Photo Credit: ThePuparazzi

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

From the Corporate Life to Zelda’s Song, how one business woman changed careers to create a thriving business in memory of her beloved dog Zelda.

I always find it fascinating how people have ended up in the pet industry whether it’s a pet business or rescue group.  A lot of pet professionals I talk to had a former life as a professional person in the corporate world in a completely different industry, and may have always had a yearning to get into the pet industry.

Last spring, in April of 2012, I was at the HH Backer pet trade show in Atlantic City, and at this point it takes something quite different, unique, or just plain fabulous to draw my attention.  I was walking with a friend and at the same time we both walked over to a booth in the new product section called Zelda’s Song.

What drew me to the booth was the quality of the products, the uniqueness of what was being displayed.  I was both admiring Zelda’s Song’s bracelets and key rings – which was unlike anything I had seen before.  Not to mention how beautiful the dog collars and leashes are too.  The quality and craftwomanship was what really stood out.  I was intrigued and asked, how do you get the pictures of the dogs to pop out and look so good?  Sharon Herrman the owner and founder of Zelda’s Song starting explaining the process, that everything is designed by her, all materials made right here in the USA, (Rhode Island and upstate New York), and was so nice about her product, not a typical pushy sales person.  You could really hear her passion about her product while she was talking to me.

I remember saying to Sharon, “I definitely want to get a key ring, I love it.”  I took her card, checked out her website and really liked what I saw.  Fast forward a few months later to October 2012 and as I walked through the vendor spaces at BarkWorld in Atlanta – I spotted Sharon at her Zelda’s Song booth.  It was so nice to see a familiar face!  We spoke for a bit and her booth looked great and we talked about how we would get back to NY/CT with the impending Hurricane Sandy on the way.  I also said, “That’s right I wanted to get a key chain, I really love the quality and design of it.”  And the last day at BarkWorld I won a key chain, one of the many giveaways at the expo. (How cool, thank you universe!)

Since then, Sharon and I had correspondence and she was kind enough to be one of our sponsors for our 3^rd Annual Holiday Party & Pet Food Drive for Long Island Pet Professionals.

As I mentioned, it’s not every day or every time I go to a pet trade show that I get excited about a product and how it came about.  Sharon was kind enough to let me take time out her busy schedule to interview her – and maybe inspire those of you who are thinking of getting into the pet industry or have a product idea they want to launch.

Q. So tell me more how you got interested in starting Zelda’s Song?

A.  I also always wanted to run my own business – I was raised in a family of entrepreneurs, my dad built a multi-million dollar business and my mother ran her own pharmacy, so it’s been in my blood.   After loosing my beloved Bernese Mountain dog, Zelda, at the age of 6 due to cancer, the idea of starting a business in her memory would keep coming to me, and it actually helped me manage my grief of loosing Zelda.  I couldn’t stop thinking about the idea, it kept coming back to me and the creative process really drew me in.

Q. I love what you told me about Searching Amazon and how a book popped up, tell us about that:

A. Yes I was searching on Amazon one day and a book called ‘One Nation Under Dog’ by Michael Schaffer popped up as a suggestion, and it was odd since I had never bought a pet related book on Amazon.   But it caught my attention, and I purchased it after reading the first few pages they give you to read on Amazon.  The book was about how our mainstream culture is not that accepting of pet loss.  The idea I was thinking of doing, or creating really was nagging at me even more after reading this book.  I thought, it would be so nice to have a way that pet owners could either wear a picture of their actual pet as an emblem their pets mean to them.   I wanted a way to carry Zelda’s picture with me or wear her picture – and also have a beautiful piece of jewelry capturing her essence for others to see.

That is fascinating that the book popped up, almost leading you in the direction you were already thinking of going – love that! So I love the tag line, ‘Fetch Joy’ – how did you come up with that?

A.  Fetch Joy was to show a fun way of representing life and the joy our pets bring to us on a daily basis.  So while you can memorialize your pet with our jewelry, you can also create a piece of jewelry with your current pet, fetching joy if you will.

So great! I know my Max is always bringing me joy!  What did you do before becoming a pet entrepreneur with Zelda’s Song?

A. I had a great career in marketing with various Fortune 500 companies.  Mostly in consumer products companies, and I specialized in new product development.  And I was also a manufacturers representative right before starting Zelda’s song.  I have an MBA and also 2-year degree in architectural engineering.

Wow, that is some career history and great combo on degrees on what you do.  I love to hear backgrounds of our pet professionals, and having a career in marketing must have really helped you.  So tell us, how did you start getting the word out about your business?

A.  I started with the pet trade shows, like HH Backer’s spring trade show, and I started doing a blog on being a start up entrepreneur.  But I have to say that the trade shows really proved that was interest in the product.  I tried to combine traditional and online advertising; I placed ads with The Bark magazine, was on Twitter, (@ZeldasSong), from the beginning and of course Facebook.  I am also getting into Pinterest.  I find that our customers want to connect directly with me, since I do the framing of their photo that ends up in the bracelet or keychain.  That has worked well – the direct interaction. Customers seem to want to share the story of their life with their dogs, and I like to listen – it’s part of the personal service and helps me understand how to showcase the dog’s personality.  Often times, our product is an emotional purchase for the customer.

You’re products are beautifully, handcrafted, here in the USA do you come up with the designs on your own?

A. Yes, so far I have created all the designs. Mostly they came about as I thought about designing jewelry that would hold Zelda’s photo and tags.  Then I just took it a step further to include the charm bracelet concept – something like a ‘Pandora’ bracelet for dog moms.

How long have you been in business?

A. We have been in business, creating, designing and getting everything in order to launch for 2 to 3 years, and started officially selling in June 2012. You know it takes a long time to get product to market, prototypes, manufacturing prototypes, etc. But the magic is when you are holding the first finished product in your hand – then you really know.

What is your goal of Zelda’s song moving forward?

A. Building my social media audience, get Zelda’s Song into more retail and gift boutique stores.  Part of my demographic is the older generation who are not on the internet – so focusing on getting more people who are not on the internet to know about Zelda’s Song.

What would you tell other business owners who are thinking of getting started in the pet industry?

A. I would say I am glad we went in to business, although it can continue to be scary, but the people we have met have along the way so far have been open and down to earth, generally very welcoming and helpful.   I would say to others in the pet industry or thinking about getting into it, if you have a tangible idea to go for it.  But do it the right way, and understand that not everyone in the pet industry will make money with whatever product they bring to market.  I know this from business in general from all my years working in marketing and being a manufacturers rep.  Do your due diligence in researching your idea or product and launch when you are ready – don’t rush it.

And lastly what is the song in Zelda’s Song?

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

My heart broke when I saw Queenie’s picture on Facebook.  I quickly read the caption, and thought she was actually dead from the horrific picture posted – her body being skin and bones.  I couldn’t look more than a few seconds at it, thinking who would ever do something like that to a dog?  Then I thought back to Joey, the 3 month old pit bull puppy who was thrown from a moving car last year, or the little puppy I met a couple years ago who had mangled back legs from being a bait dog for a dog fighting here on Long Island.  Or some of you might even remember Maximus the pit bull who was set on fire and chained up in Brentwood, who later succumb to his unimaginable injuries – his owner went to jail – he could be out by now.  The really sad truth is that these stories come up way to often in our culture, here on Long Island and throughout our country.  I always try to shine a light on those amazing people doing good in the world for pets – who make a difference locally in pet’s and human’s lives.  But seeing Queenie’s picture, made me so sad, sick to my stomach and incredibly mad – there is no longer a reason to remain silent on this issue.

Why does our society continue to let this happen?  We have laws in place against animal abuse – but obviously they are not scary enough consequences for people who are the scum of the earth to not do these things.  We have all read how studies of animal abusers often and most times lead to human abusers – so why isn’t more done to stop these people?

When will our society rise up and demand better solutions for animal abusers?  I am not talking about people who don’t know the best or proper care for their pets that need education on the matter, (that is a whole different topic).  I am talking about demanding more serious consquences for people who do things like they did to Queenie, Joey, Maximus and countless other pets who are killed, tormented and tortured.  Will her owner, once he is caught, get a year or two in jail then released?  Will he get fined, a slap on the wrist?  How will they track this guy from ever owning a pet again?

The fact that Queenie survived and is eating, and walking is a miracle and shows the sheer determination and depth of a dogs will to live and persevere.  Joey too, after months of rehabilitation, he now is doing amazingly well considering his injuries.  That is, as animal lovers what we gravitate towards – how resilient our pets are.

We know there are more good people in the world than bad, especially when it comes to our pets and animals, and many people want to help.  If you can’t directly help Queenie or Guardians of Rescue who stepped in to help save her, there are many great organizations on Long Island that can use additional volunteers, donations.  But the one thing I would ask you to do, is not to look away, not to turn your head – our society often ‘doesn’t want to know’ when it comes to animal abuse or horrible situations like this.  I get it, my first reaction was to not look, but mainly because I am in the pet industry and sadly see things like this more often then not via social media and the press.  But looking away or not wanting to know will not help solve the epidemic of animal abuse.  Think about how you can help make a difference so we start to see less of this.

Show this to your kids and show them how wrong it is and ask them what they think can be done to help turn around lack of respect for our pets, animals and world we share with them.  Call you local politician and demand better punishment for people who abuse animals.  Take a stand and work with local organizations to help protect our animals that depend on us.

Queenie. Photo Credit: Guardians of Rescue

Joey. Photo Credit: Veterinary Medical Center of Long Island (VMCLI)

By Project Your Bubble for LIPetPlace.com

In 2013 Teach Your Pet This One Life-Saving Thing

Protect Your Bubble identifies the most important command every dog (and dog parent) should know

Every year we set new goals for ourselves – lose weight, get healthy, land a promotion, find that special someone.  But what about our dogs – should we set goals for them?  The folks at Protect Your Bubble pet health insurance brand say yes!  And they’ve narrowed it down to one very important thing.  In fact, it’s one of the most important things you can ever teach your dog – it could save his or her life one day.

It’s called emergency recall and most pet loving families have neglected to teach Fido this command for a number of reasons – it can be tough to train, it can be boring (for your dog) to learn, and it’s not used very often.  But boy will your tail be wagging when you need to use it and your dog listens.

An ‘emergency recall’ command is very different from a ‘come when called’ command, according to pet behaviorist and certified dog trainer Kate Jackson with Jabula Dog Academy.  “Dogs are used to hearing the word ‘come’ and often there are strings attached – they’re in trouble, they’re leaving the dog park or they’re headed to the vet.  Because the ‘come here’ command is used so often, many dogs decide to ignore it to avoid the consequences it may bring.  That’s why teaching an emergency recall is so important – it’s the ‘drop everything you are doing and come running back to me immediately’ command.

Watch behaviorist Kate Jackson discuss this command.

This command should be reserved for emergencies ONLY – your dog is running into traffic or headed towards a dogfight or an aggressive or dangerous situation.  “It’s extremely important not to overuse this command so your dog doesn’t become conditioned to ignore it,” says Kate.  “He or she should come immediately when this command is used, no questions asked.  In the event of an emergency, it could be the difference between life and death.”

“As a pet health insurer, we see many injuries that could have been avoided,” says Stephen Ebbett, President of Protect Your Bubble.  “Believe it or not, ninety two percent of pets will experience a severe accident or emergency in their lifetime. We believe that an emergency recall command can save our pet-loving customers a lot of heartache.  It’s not a very well known command, so we want to spread the word.  It’s a great goal for 2013 – teach your pet this one life-saving thing.”

If you don’t already use an emergency recall command and you’ve trained your dog to do other tasks, this command can be taught by using positive reinforcement and repetition.  If you’re not comfortable training your dog, Protect Your Bubble recommends searching for a certified trainer in your area and finding one with whom you and your pooch are comfortable. And remember, for those with a Protect Your Bubble pet health insurance policy, behaviorists can be covered under certain policies, so give us a call to find out (toll free 1-855-792-7387). Training this command will help ensure a healthy and happy year with your beloved furry family members.

About Protect Your Bubble

Headquartered in Atlanta, GA, Protect Your Bubble is available online, via mobile app or phone, and allows consumers to understand, buy and protect what’s most important to them. The insurance company offers the following types of insurance plans: Pet, Car Rental Insurance, Travel and Gadget.  Pet plans provide up to 90 percent reimbursement for covered vet charges for eligible accidents, illnesses, hereditary conditions and behavioral treatments and alternative therapies. They allow owners to visit any licensed vet in the country. Additionally, annual deductible options start at $100 which only need to be met once per plan year.

This is a sponsored post for LIPetPlace.com to teach a life saving command to your dog.

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.comn

The 137th Westminster Kennel Club dog show is the super bowl of dog shows, while I have been to Westminster many times before, this is the first time I have been at the evening Best in Show.  Talk about the air being electric with excitement throughout the crowd, the handlers and even the dogs were jumping around the ring.  As dog owner, I love all breeds of dogs, my first dog was a mixed breed dog, a cock-a-poo from an oops litter…from a neighbor, then owning a Doberman as an adult and a Pit Bull (Max!).  But seeing so many different breeds in one place at one time is any dog lovers dream whether you covet a lovely mixed breed or have a purebred, doesn’t matter to me – love ’em all.  And the funny thing is, it never gets old – Westminster is the place to be if you want to see hundreds of different breeds. And as sporting events go, the crowd was doing the ‘wave’ during the commercial break before the best in show!

If you have never been to Westminster, live in the tri-state area and love dogs – this is a must do event.  It is well worth the trip.  You can talk to the owners-breeders-handlers of the dogs entered, and if you are someone who is looking to adopt a purebred dog, this is a great place to learn about the breed and find out if the breed you were thinking is for you.  Then of course, contact your local animal shelter as many, many purebreds are there waiting for you.

This year Las Vegas took odds on the Doberman winning the Best in Show…of course I am typing this as I sit in the press area on the floor and I am really pulling for Fifi the Doberman to win…but if an American Staffordshire Terrier wins the Terrier group then I will be really happy if the AmStaff wins. (neither won… 🙁 )

People come from all over the world, as well as right here on Long Island and the tri-state area to compete, to be spectators and to cover the event.  This year the show was at the Piers during the day, and at Madison Square Garden at night.  I was originally not planning on going to the piers, but after downloading the Westminster app to my phone, (which was an awesome tool by the way!), I saw that there were shuttle buses, and wow did they run smoothly.  Kudos to the organizers!

This show unlike some of the even smaller local outdoor shows, you can walk through the benching area, see the dogs getting groomed, and get up very close to watch them compete for their best of breed during the day time.  It’s quite an experience.

This cutie in the benching area holding his favorite toy and posing for the camera!

The excitement of best in show really builds when the lights go down and the dogs come out one by one with the spot light on them.  Tonight when the Old English Sheepdog came out the thunderous cheer in the Garden was deafening.  Talk about dog lovers in the crowd!  The Affenpinscher also got an the crowd going nuts…and just like that the Old English Sheepdog got Reserve Best in Show, the first time this was awarded at Westminster, and Banana Joe the Affenpinscher won Best in Show. It just so happened that his owner, a young women was standing behind me in the press area, and when he won, she was greeted by hugs and cheers from friends and family and was shedding happy tears.  Years of work go into a BIS dog and years of competition, it was a sweet moment to see up close. Congratulations to Banana Joe and to every single dog who competed in the 2 day event.

Banana Joe the Affenpinscher takes Best in Show!

Duck Tolling Retriever

Click HERE to see tons of additional Photos!